Northwestern University’s international campus in Doha, Qatar is committed to excellent teaching, innovative research, and the personal and intellectual growth of its students in a diverse academic community.

Bloomberg news MENA editor speaks at NU-Q

Riad Hamade, executive editor of Bloomberg News MENA, shared his insight on how one of the world's leading news and financial news information companies gathers and breaks news.

Hamade was the first speaker in a series of presentations on media companies in context of their overall operations and content production that is being hosted by Northwestern University in Qatar.

“Our clients rely on our news portal to make major business decisions. We are held accountable for the news that we share and how quickly we do it,” said Hamade, a 17-year veteran of the company. “Bloomberg’s strength is that it does extremely well at connecting the dots between financial information and business news, and it does that fast.”

“As a leading global source for financial and business news stories, Bloomberg’s business model and approach to news is unique,” said Everette E. Dennis, dean and CEO of NU-Q. “It is important for our students to have access to leaders in the media industry who are able to share their expertise, as well as their thoughts on how this industry is responding world.”

Hamade pointed out that in the complicated industry of business, finance, and economics, journalists have to develop a good sense of understanding of how things work and be able to think critically about the information they are presented with. “Our reporters are not economists or financial analysts, but with time and experience they start to understand the business industry, and it’s fascinating how hooked they get because they realize how important money is in politics, and in social and economic developments,” he said.

Following his presentation, Hamade was asked how Bloomberg News approaches news reports that are on politically-sensitive topics.

“It’s a challenge,” said Hamade. “Our stories do not always please everybody, but again, our accuracy and commitment to fair reporting are our main support. We’re always open to feedback and will update the story accordingly. It’s also important for us to have people on the ground and to have good relationships with influential figures – you can’t be a great journalist unless you have good relationships.”

NU-Q regularly hosts sessions and interviews with leaders in the media industry, giving its community an opportunity to learn from and engage with the guests. Previous speakers this semester have included CNN host Fareed Zakaria; His Excellency Sheikh Saif bin Ahmed Al Thani, director of Qatar’s Government Communications Office; and journalists from the Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting.